Patrick van Aanholt believes Ruben Loftus-Cheek deserves the chance to show what he can do for England at the World Cup this summer.

The 22-year-old has impressed at Crystal Palace this season during his season-long loan spell from Chelsea, with Loftus-Cheek earning his first call-up to the senior England squad in November.

He missed more than three months of the season through injury, but he has recently returned to form and as such, is now a serious contender to be included in Gareth Southgate’s 23-man squad for the tournament in Russia this summer.

“He has been showing in the Premier League, but it is up to him to take the chance if he gets it.”

Loftus-Cheek is not the only Palace player to have received praise in recent weeks, with Wilfried Zaha earning plenty of plaudits for his performances, which have seen him voted as the Premier League player of the month for April.

Last week, Zaha was also named Palace’s player of the year for a third season in a row, and van Aanholt says that is understandable.

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But, the former Sunderland man says the rest of the players deserve credit too for how Palace have dragged themselves out of the relegation zone and to safety, with the Eagles now looking forward to a sixth successive season in the Premier League.

“Of course, but it is about everyone in the whole squad, not just three or four players,” he said.

“Obviously they are good players and they have stepped up a lot, but I think we have a lot of good players.

“I think in the beginning of the season, everyone was doubting us and were saying we were relegated and in the Championship already after seven games.